One day Chicken Little was walking in the woods when -- KERPLUNK -- an acorn fell on her head. "Oh my goodness!" said Chicken Little. "The sky is falling! I must go and tell the king." On her way to the king's palace, Chicken Little met Henny Penny. Henny Penny said that she was going into the woods to hunt for worms. "Oh no, don't go!" said Chicken Little. "I was there and the sky fell on my head! Come with me to tell the king." So Henny Penny joined Chicken Little and they went along as fast as they could.
This famous children's story was designed to teach our children not to jump to conclusions, and the dangers in spreading news about doom and gloom. Many incarnations of this theme have sneaked into popular culture. The media who has in the last three decades evolved into a global town crier has a penchant of spreading news in a sensational manner.
Fueled by personal agendas, whether it is political, or motivated by money, has done the masses an injustice. Gone are the days when a headline would say, "Bank Robber lifts $100,000 in daylight Heist!" Today the same story headline would read "Banks Fails to Protect Assets, Account Holders in Despair!" You get the picture.
So, what is this all about? Last week a story broke out in England where a government economist, a Sir Nicholas Stern, commissioned by the Tony Blair Parliament, came out with his study that stated, 'Time is Running Out, by 2100, an upheaval not seen since last Ice Age." Sterns paper spells out doom and gloom based on the scientific theory of Global Warming. In a 579-paper report that Stern compiled over a year, he stated simply that the world is coming to an end. Stern, (Chicken Little), meets up with Blair, (Henny Penny) and together they head off to the Queen to spread the news.
The sky is falling. The media picks this up and the buzz is on. Money starts to filter into the interest groups associated with "Global Warming" and pockets are lined starting with England. The Liberals in Canada clang their swords in Canadian Parliament, and our Government is once again filibustered, effectively handcuffing them.
The sky is falling, and an Economist says so. What is with that? What does an economist know about a scientific theory in the first place? Where did his research come from, the Internet? Why would the Tony Blair government commission a scientific paper from a bookkeeper? Sounds like a conflict of interest.
The end result is that people once again live in fear. From global thermonuclear war, to global terrorism. From the fear of a new depression to global warming, the theme is all the same. The world is coming to an end. This is simply not the case. The sun will always rise in the east and set in the west. Yearly moisture that falls on the ground tends to do so each year, some years less, some years more, but the end result is that it all averages out. Ice caps breaking off the arctic shelf has been doing so yearly for centuries, as weather patterns change so does the flow and placement of ice.
Man is arrogant to believe that we have the power to effect such global environmental change. We have a responsibility to the this planet and each other to be a good steward of what be have been given dominion over. Yes, we must find ways not to pollute our air and water, and not poison our food and bodies with toxins. But we also have a responsibility to each other, our economies and ourselves.
Nobody is saying that we should go out and destroy our planet. But we should live in this planet with rational thought, rational motives, and rational results. The media has a responsibility not to sensationalize the issues, because special interest groups are always out there using the press to manipulate the truth. This is a dangerous trend, and one that drives fear into the hearts of many. Fear that lines the pockets of the greedy, Fear that send people in the arms of the pharmaceutical
industry, fear that separates families and degrades ones health. Fear is the message, when ‘fear not’ should be conveyed.
I have a favorite Biblical phrase that we see used throughout the Good Book. That is, "And it came to pass." Having a bad day, don't worry it will pass. Are you in trouble, don't worry it will pass. Are fear mongers getting influencing the media, don't worry that will pass too.
